Author's Notes: You make me laugh, Zathura and Dragon. ;D So much gushing on my end, Duckie. Thank you!

Now. Chapter 9's divided into three parts due to length. There's a lot to follow. Heh.

Disclaimer: TMNT belongs to Nick/Eastman/Laird. Nia Hamato/Anders, Melody Hamato/Gray, and other OCs belong to me. I'm in no way making any money. Thanks.


Chapter 09 - The Party (Part 1)

Perhaps the grin on Raphael's face was a dead giveaway. He didn't care one bit—not even when Donatello and Michelangelo sent suspicious looks across the Farmhouse kitchen.

"Okay, did lightening fry your peanut brain last night or what?" Mikey questioned while narrowing his blue eyes in suspicion.

At the counter, Don accepted a cluster of sliced summer sausage his younger brother offered then flashed a similar look over the shorter Chūnin's head. "Yeah, something's definitely up. You've been unnaturally relaxed since we woke."

"There ain't anything wrong with feelin' relaxed," the hothead countered, brawny arms crossed.

"Please, with you this laidback? It means something big." Mikey huff-snorted then smacked Raph's hand when he ventured close to steal some cheese and crackers off a half-filled platter.

"Hey, it's my Mutation Day, Shell-for-Brains! I can have some."

The orange-masked Hamato sent his glaring brother a pointed look. "Later. You're acting too strange."

Raph rolled his eyes, sighing. How was he to help it if he felt good?

"Oh, I got it!" exclaimed Mikey with a sudden punch to his older sibling's arm. "You finally told her, didn't ya? Didn't ya?"

"Mikey," Raph said warningly.

"Oh! You did!" The excited little brother shook his arms, a large grin on his face; but when his gaze connected with Raph's, a twinge of jealousy flared like blue flames.

"Mike—"

Michelangelo flicked a hand dismissively. "No, no; it's all good. And about time. You've been wondering around like a corked volcano for weeks."

"Have not."

"Donny?"

The orange and red masked brothers glanced at the taller purple-masked one, who grinned nervously. "Uh…you've been broody, Raph."

"Whatever," Raphael grumbled.

"And to answer your next question"—Mikey interjected with a sly smile—"some things you just suck at hiding. Like how you've wanted to tell Nia you love her, but your mouth ruins ninety-percent of what you say."

"Yer one ta talk about mouths," the elder brother shot back, nostrils flaring.

"So how did it go?" Obviously, the jab went ignored as Mikey encroached on Raph's personal space—to the point where the older mutant's carapace met the fridge, locking him in place under imposing blue eyes. "Did it go smoothly? Or did you stumble? Did she tell you first? Wait; I think she mentioned something about that. She wanted it to come from you. Unless she gave in. Did she?"

"Geeze, Mike, it wasn't—"

"I swear: you say 'a big deal' and I'll sucker punch you."

Raph met the youngest's grimace, lightly pushing him backwards with the faintest trace of exhilaration lingering in his limbs. "I was gunna say anything like that. It was…unplanned. An' I don't think she believed me for a bit."

"Really? Did she test you?"

The hothead groaned.

"She did!"

"You must've passed then, if your smile means anything," interjected Donny calmly over Mikey's laughter. "Matter of fact, I know exactly what kind of smile that is."

In a millisecond, Mikey grew silent with thought, glancing at Don first then Raph before teasingly asking, "Ooh, did someone get married?"

Unwanted heat flowed across Raph's face under his brother's Cheshire grin, but he couldn't hide it nor force it back. The subsequent chuckles of his siblings only strengthened it and he had to force his attention on the kitchen's wide archway to keep collected.

"Oh, Raphy Boy, she said 'I do'," cheered the Nunchaku master.

"Can it, Shell-for-Brains."

"Come on; that's exciting stuff! I bet you almost threw up in nervousness."

"I said can it!"

"This is a big step for you two," Donatello remarked, serious. His grip on Mikey's shoulder forced the blue-eyed mutant aside, so he could stand before Raphael.

A strange spark in his brown gaze was hard to distinguish and Raph furrowed his eye ridges, saying, "I know. An' I've thought about it like mad. I was gunna let it be for a while longer, but last night…sh—she needed ta know."

"Did something happen?" questioned Mikey as he stepped closer to Don's side.

"Her nightmares," Raph answered, frowning at the evident pain in his brothers.

"So it wasn't the storm that took out the kitchen lights."

"No, Donny, that was my"—Raph paused because of the spontaneous leap his stomach took—"wife." Damn, the following breathlessness; it made him feel silly. Thankfully, the sai master could wield the sensation like a pro, so he sighed, rubbing the tender flesh at his Nucha Scute. "Memories have gotten worse. Last night, when I woke her from her nightmare, she, uh…she remembered the two criminals Bishop sent her way."

"Oh, no."

Dread in Mike's whisper brought Raph's gaze to the tile floor. "Yeah."

"H—how much did she remember?"

"All 'a it."

"So she knows—"

Raphael raised his gaze until it cut off Donny's words with a pinpointed look that could outshine Splinter. "We ain't callin' her a murderer. Nia did nothin' ta those jerk offs. It wasn't an intentional killin' an' we ain't mentionin' it unless she brings it up first. Got it?"

The red-masked mutant kept a growl at bay. Yet barely. The topic was sourer now more than ever since he could visualize the utter terror behind Nia's darkened teal eyes. He could still feel her tremble in his arms and hear the echoes of regret and self-loathing in her tone as she asked 'And if I turn out to be a time bomb?'

"She seemed happy this morning, though," added Mikey after a tense pause.

Raph shook his head with fervor then balled his fists. "'Cuz I assured her I'd stand by her…no matter what she does."

"Now you know how I feel about Mel," noted Donny with a light chuckle.

Raphael huffed in return, finding it hard to admit the truth. A break came to him in the form of a loud, youthful voice. It cut through anything else Don said and called attention to a blur of yellow and blue that barreled into the kitchen like a bullet. The short figure, Kaiya, stopped on a dime at a decorative border on the tile floor then flashed a bright smile of uneven teeth.

"Are the snacks done?" she asked.

Her high voice neared overpowering, but since Raph was training himself to endure it, he smirked at her round, golden eyes. "Not quite. Mikey 'n Don were slakin'."

"Excusez moi?" Michelangelo retorted while approaching the young blonde to ruffle her short hair. "Raphy here was called to duty as well. And he did less than us."

"Miss April said it was a bad idea to leave you three to it," Kaiya commented, giggling as the mutant's hand fell.

"Did she now?" Donny added.

"Well"—the seven-year-old glanced at the counters as if looking for anything to bring back with her—"Miss April said so to a wall, but it seemed like she meant it. Walls don't talk back…do they?" Genuine seriousness lit Kaiya's pale face and riled laughs from the Hamatos.

"Naw, Dudette," said Mikey cheekily, "not unless they're haunted."

"Have you seen haunted walls?" the young girl countered, eager in her steps after him.

The orange-masked Chūnin flashed a smile over his shoulder then approached the platter to continue its garnishing. "We've seen lots of things. Haunted walls aren't one of them. I don't think."

"Oh." Kaiya's shoulders slumped, yet she recovered with a grin in time to reach for a collection of stacked trays on the counter.

"Uh, Kaiya, you don't have to get that," Don remarked while crossing the kitchen.

"I can help!" the blonde protested.

And to prove her point, she stood on her tippy-toes to tug the shallow rim of the bottom tray. It moved slowly at first, but then the power in Kaiya's fingers somehow increased with her frustrated snort. The tray—a lidded vegetable platter—was slung like a heavy Frisbee across the kitchen. Raphael prepared himself to catch it, though by the time he raised his hands, it stopped.

The burly mutant stared at Kaiya in surprise, noting how deep her fingers dug into the plastic lid. She gasped then reeled backwards while straightening the platter as if her jarring burst of speed and agility could be overlooked.

"Kaiya," Don started.

"I'm sorry!" the little girl cried, voice cracking.

"No need for sorry," Mikey said softly. He was the first to kneel at Kaiya's sneakers and the only one to touch her shoulders.

The glum girl glanced between the three of them like they would snap or express endless amounts of disappointment, so when the youngest smiled, her eyes widened. "Y—you aren't mad?"

"Everyone makes messes, Dudette."

"But I…I…" Kaiya frowned, glancing towards the archway. "Daddy doesn't like it when I run fast and stuff."

"Are you forbidden from running?"

Slowly, Kaiya nodded.

"Wait a minute." Raph caught the girl's gaze by huffing. "Runnin' ain't bad. What's wrong with that?"

"I have to keep the do—doctor lady from finding out."

"Does your daddy say he wants you to be normal?" Don spoke with the assuredness of one who already knew his answer. And as Kaiya nodded, he inhaled carefully—his polite means of hiding annoyance. "Kaiya, sweetie, this isn't something you can sweep under the rug."

"Huh?"

"You can't ignore the feeling. Can you?"

"N—no."

"Thought so. Neither can I."

Stiffened by Don's truth, Kaiya straightened herself, staring shamelessly at the tallest kneeled mutant. "But you weren't with Mister Leonardo and me," she said through strenuous words.

"But I was injected with Recro-12, just like you."

"The yellow-green stuff?"

"Yes. And I can feel it, a heat in my blood."

"Do—does it feel good when you run too?"

Donatello nodded, though his quick glance at Raph caused the hothead to frown. Why hadn't he heard about this?

"I—is the world sometimes slow? And do your cuts get better in minutes?"

"Not quite that much," Don told the eager girl. "You're more special than me."

"Why?"

The genius rose to his feet then bent to place a comforting hand on Kaiya's head, saying, "We're figuring that out, so we can manage your…abilities."

"Daddy says they shouldn't exist…"

"Let us talk to your daddy," noted Mikey. "Someone who can do cool things like you should practice them."

"You…think they're cool?"

"Absolutely. Who knows, maybe you can be a superhero in the future?"

Instantly, hope lit Kaiya's fair features, his mouth widening. "Like you guys? L—like Mister Leonardo?"

"We aren't exactly superheroes," muttered Don while stroking his wide chin.

Like any seven-year-old would care; she spun in thrill of the idea, beaming like a lighthouse. "I wanna be a hero just like Mister Leonardo!"

There were few things in life Raph would admit were cute or moving. Kaiya's laughter was one of those things. His chest ached at the reminder of Leo's absence, yet it also swelled with pride at witnessing the deep admiration the little girl held for his older brother. Despite her young age, she displayed a great love for the Jonin, and he felt assured she would be devastated if they never met again. Like any other in their clan.

"That is an admirable goal," Donny said.

"He'll let me, right?"

The genius paused under the child's hopeful gold gaze. "That's another matter. Meanwhile, we have some platters to deliver. The party's staring soon, right?"

"Right!" With a bright smile, Kaiya accompanied Donatello to clean the mess from the fallen trays. Raphael shared a look with Mikey then also joined, taking careful note of the speed and accuracy of Kaiya's hands.